The Last Resort
by Icylone
Summary: It is the year 2002. Britain has been left for death, and hope has forsaken the war-ravaged land. Captured, with death only moments away, the Order reaches out for one last option – More time. Harry joins the team, rewriting destiny forever. Sakura/Syaoran. No other pairings. Rewritten version of Easing the Future.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: It is the year 2002. Britain has been left for death, and hope has forsaken the war-ravaged land. Captured, with death only moments away, the Order reaches out for one last option – More time. Harry joins the team, rewriting destiny forever. Sakura/Syaoran. No other pairings.

Warnings: Foul language, slight gore.

Rewritten version of EtF, edited 14/12/2011

* * *

**CHAPTER 1 – The World as We Knew It**

* * *

April 12, 1998  
Number 12, Grimmauld Place  
Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix

"_This will be our last plan. Our last resort to save this world from Voldemort,"Dumbledore announced grimly to the assembled group of his most trusted - consisting of Remus, Tonks, Minerva, Sirius and Harry._

_"Is that really necessary, Albus?" Minerva asked worriedly, an unpleasant feeling uncoiling within her at the mere thought of what things would be like if they had to use the plan._

_Dumbledore kept quiet for a while, and the rest stayed silent, wrapped up in their grim thoughts of war. Many Order members were already dead, the most recent death being Mad-eye's._

_"I'm afraid it just might, Minerva," the aged wizard broke the tense silence, "Just...as a last resort. But it has a low possibility of working. It is only to be our very last resort, if all else fails and there is no hope anymore."_

"_There's already no hope," Harry said harshly. "Who is still hoping? Who doesn't think they'll die? Who is ready to bring a child to this damned world?"_

_Tonks choked, her hand resting on her swollen stomach. Remus wrapped a comforting arm around her waist, but even then he looked regretful. For a moment no one dared speak, all stunned by the reality of their situation. _

"_We have to fight against the muggles and then against Voldemort for killing muggles. What the fuck are we doing?" Harry hissed out, close to losing his temper. His voice had been growing louder and louder throughout his speech, but then suddenly he stopped. _

"_More time? Why can't we just wish for Voldemort to never exist, for this war to stop entirely?"_

* * *

"Hermione, dodge!" Harry screamed, even as he threw a vicious curse at the Death Eater behind her. The bushy haired witch instinctively threw herself down, but it was too late. The upper half of her body was blasted out in a shower of blood and gore.

"Fuck!" Harry gasped out, feeling tears sting his eyes. He wanted to get closer to her body, to do something, but he was immediately engaged by another Death Eater. The Death Eater who had killed Hermione crowed in victory, before disappearing into the chaos in search for more prey. No matter, Harry thought to himself darkly even as the Death Eater in front of him fell to a well aimed Killing curse. He had ingrained the culprit's mannerisms and fighting style into his memory, and could easily hunt her down later. She would not live to see another day.

He pressed his lips tightly together to hold his emotions together, quickly conjuring a white cloth over her body as a gesture of respect to the brave and intelligent witch who had stood by him in his darkest moments. "Get yourself together, Potter," He muttered, turning his eyes away from the sight and immediately casting a shield spell, watching as a sickly orange light splashed on its surface. He dodged a stray Killing curse, throwing one of his own right back at a Death Eater that had snuck up on him.

The battle continued; Hermione Granger's death brushed aside as one of the many casualties of the war. Harry pushed his grief at her death behind his Occlumency shields, focusing on staying alive in the chaotic battle. "Sectumsempra! Confringo! Duro!" He roared, throwing spell after spell at the Death Eaters around him, who immediately conjured up shields to stand against the continuous fire.

It was supposed to be a standard mission, a simple take-and-run kind of mission. The town was supposed to be secure. What the fuck was Diggle and Hestia doing? He snarled, blasting a Death Eater out of the way. Without hesitation, he raised his wand towards the darkening sky, throwing up a shower of red and gold sparks to call a retreat. Then he twisted his body, trying to apparate, but was met with a solid barrier.

Anti-Apparition wards. The hell? They had put up security measures just a few days ago to negate such wards. He scowled, abandoning his attempts at apparition, his emerald eyes quickly searching out Filius, the former Charms Professor at Hogwarts and a Ward Master. He threw a Killing curse at the Death Eater Filius was engaging, taking him out immediately.

"We need to get the bloody wards down, now!" Harry shouted, grabbing the diminutive man roughly and pulling him into a deserted alleyway.

"It's too complex! It'll take hours," Filius shouted back, over the screams of spells and curses. "We need to run and get out of physical range of the wards!"

Harry cursed under his breath, feeling slightly dizzy from excessive blood loss. "Get the rest who are still alive and lead them out. I'm trusting their safety with you."

Flitwick pressed his lips together in determination, raising his wand slightly in promise before whirling around and disappearing back into the battle, to try to get the remaining Order survivors out before Voldemort arrived.

Harry headed for higher ground, keeping to the shadows and cursing the occasional Death Eater who spotted him. While Filius' job was to get all the Order members out, Harry's was to destroy the scene utterly, so that none of the bodies could be turned into Inferi and used against them. They had learnt their lessons well, through the numerous battles. There was no room for mistakes.

He crouched behind a bush, his breathing a little heavy, and narrowed his eyes as he carefully scrutinized the battle occurring below. The smoke was making it difficult to see properly, however, and it was impossible to tell friend from foe at such a distance. No matter, he trusted Filius. He would do exactly as instructed.

Ten minutes. He would give the Order ten minutes before razing the place down with Fiendfyre. The civilians would have been evacuated by now, or already dead, killed.

Five minutes. Harry squinted at the battle below. There were still a hell lot of movement.

Three minutes.

One minute. He hoped that most, if not all, of the Order members had evacuated.

Five, four, three, two…

A sudden prickling at his neck made him stiffen and throw himself to the right, only to see a bright green light strike the place where he had been crouching by. High cold laughter broke the silence of the night.

"Voldemort," Harry said emotionlessly, swallowing the spell he had been about to cast. Damn it, and he had been less than a second away from destroying the town…

Cursing Voldemort's bad timing, Harry clenched his fist around his holly and phoenix feather wand, ready to fight. Instead of doing the same, Voldemort simply watched him with a touch of dark amusement, lips curling into a small sneer.

"Dumbledore is dead. Do you really think you can defeat me now?"

"Your penchant for conversation before doing battle could be your downfall, Tom," Harry snarled right back, feeling a vicious sort of triumph when Voldemort hissed at the use of his muggle name. Triumph faded to uncertainty and wariness, however, when instead of cursing him like Harry expected, Voldemort merely smirked.

Emerald green eyes widened with realisation and Harry immediately tried to twist his body to dodge the spell from behind. It was too late a realisation, however, and the last thing he knew was Voldemort's cold laugh as darkness descended upon him.

* * *

"Harry? Harry, wake up," Someone was shaking him. He grouchily batted the hands away, snuggling into what he thought was a pillow when pain flooded his senses. Immediately he sat right up, gasping at the tight pain at his side. Glancing down, he saw a deep wound covered with a mixture of fresh and dried blood. He resisted a groan and looked around. Remus, Minerva and Tonks were awake, staring at him with a glimmer of worry.

Harry looked around at his surroundings. They looked to be in a cell. As far as he could see, the cell was empty. It was dark and he had to squint to even make out the features of Tonks, who was sitting the furthest from him. Her ankle (or what used to be there) was bleeding profusely, but she seemed to be fine at the moment, with only excessive blood loss to worry about judging by the pale expression on her face.

They stayed silent for a while, the fact that they were probably in Voldemort's hold being painfully obvious to them. But was it that bad to die, even if it was in the hands of Voldemort? Harry had to wonder. He had nothing to live for now. Ron and Hermione were dead. Arthur Weasley was captured and presumed dead. Almost all of Hogwarts students were dead. Hell, half of Britain was dead, muggle or magical. The whole country seemed to be bathed in blood. Muggles was slaughtering wizards out of fear and vice versa, Voldemort was slaughtering light wizards, and leaders were sacrificing thousands of innocents to try to save the situation, actions made for the 'Greater Good'. Harry had seen the atrocities that humans could do, and it made a very ugly picture. Everyone was struggling to save their own skin, not batting an eyelid at betraying the people they loved just to live to see one more day. Others committed suicide, not wanting to see anymore of the war. Harry yearned to do that, but he knew that he was the one destined to defeat Voldemort. He couldn't be selfish, no matter how impossible the task seemed.

He shook his head to get rid of such thoughts. "How did you guys get here? I thought I told Filius to get all of you out."

Remus shrugged, wincing at the pain the simple action elicited. "We probably got caught before he could get to us. We got taken out pretty early."

Tonks scowled. "They surprised us."

_Someone betrayed us _was the unspoken words that hung in the air. They had suspected for at least a year now, that there was a traitor in the Order, but lacked the resources to check.

Besides, Harry thought grimly, it would have been unwise to throw accusations around in such a climate. He needed all the support he could get from the Order, and if he did that he could very well lose their help and support. Instead, he had waited to inform the Order only at the last possible moment of any missions. Obviously it had not worked out.

"Harry," His former Transfiguration professor spoke up, breaking the tense silence.

Harry tilted his head to the right in reply.

"Remember the... the last operation? The one which Al-Albus said it was the last resort? If all else fails and there is no more hope."

Remus widened his eyes as he thought of the implications of that statement. "We could send Harry to _her. _He could train and come back to fight. A wish for more time," Remus whispered, repeating what Dumbledore had shared with them.

Harry shook his head, his heart crushing painfully, "It has to be performed by four people. If I am the one being sent, you need one more person." All that hard work, the silent wish that it would save them if all else fails, and Operation Last Resort was in the end, just a wish that never came true. It would not save the world. It seemed that the world had a very grim future indeed.

"To hell with the rules, Harry," Tonks said venomously, "I am sick of seeing this war-torn world. Sick of living in this world. If there is a way to save this, no matter how impossible it seems, I am going to give it a try. I don't give a damn if we survive or not. I'll rather die trying to resist them than die by their hands." Her hair was dull in colour, a colour that had remained ever since the war really started. She had changed from the once bubbly girl to a tired war veteran who just wanted war to end, just like all of them.

Remus and Minerva nodded, a spark of their old selves returning. Their determination, which had slowly diminished throughout the war, was back. And Harry found himself nodding along. All of them felt a sense of optimism for the first time in a long while.

The three joined hands, with Harry in the middle, and they started a long chant in old Celtic. Bill had discovered the spell on accident, and after handing the relic with the carved words on it to Dumbledore, he had been killed by enraged death eaters who wanted the spell. Dumbledore was killed for the same reason, although he had been wise enough to destroy it beforehand after teaching it to Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Minerva and Harry.

Remus started first, the chant being very familiar after months of thinking about it relentlessly. Harry repeated after him, his blood as the necessary sacrifice for the spell. This process was repeated for the other two. The magic building up in the air around them was making it difficult to breathe. Harry breathed deeply, feeling the heavy weight of the magic in the air press down on him.

A sudden flash of pure white light illuminated the cell briefly, alerting the Death Eaters who immediately rushed to the cell, wands blazing and curses on their lips. When they got there, however, they were greeted with the sight of three lifeless bodies, an odd, creepy sort of a smile curling each of their lips.

And Harry Potter was gone.

* * *

There. The rewritten version of EtF, finally. Sorry for all those who have been waiting! The past 2 years have been really busy. Still, I have months of free time now, after my national exams, so updates will be slightly faster.

So. Better than before, worse, or meh? Constructive criticism and suggestions welcomed! I have worked on some of the suggestions you guys left me, so hopefully this will be a better story, one that I can see to the very end.

Icylone


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: It is the year 2002. Britain has been left for death, and hope has forsaken the war-ravaged land. Captured, with death only moments away, the Order reaches out for one last option – More time. Harry joins the team, rewriting destiny forever. Sakura/Syaoran. No other pairings.

Warnings: Language

Rewritten version of EtF, edited 8 Dec 2013

Sorry for posting it today rather than Saturday like I said! Had a pretty busy couple of days. On a side note, this will be the last chapter for this year. Next update will come early Jan!

Last Chapter:

_A sudden flash of pure white light illuminated the cell briefly, alerting the Death Eaters who immediately rushed to the cell, wands blazing and curses on their lips. When they got there, however, they were greeted with the sight of three lifeless bodies, an odd, creepy sort of a smile curling each of their lips. _

_And Harry Potter was gone._

* * *

**CHAPTER 2 – The Beginning of the End**

November 25, 1997  
Number 12, Grimmauld Place  
Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix

"_The Ministry has fallen."_

_Nobody spoke. The silence was deafening. Ron finally cleared his throat, looking slightly hesitant and hopeful. "Hey, this isn't so bad. I mean, they weren't doing anything much to help in the first place. No difference whether they're there or not, right?" He was clearly trying to lighten the mood, but failed dismally. Even Fred and George were looking solemn._

"_Don't be naïve, Ron," Sirius snapped. "Without a control centre, witches and wizards would be lost and there would be even more chaos."_

"_And Voldemort would take advantage of this chaos to recruit," Harry finished soberly. _

_Tonks sat beside Remus, looking miserable and grim. As Harry finished his sentence she covered her face and emitted a strangled sort of a sob. _

"_There's more, Albus," She lifted her head from her hands to look directly at Albus Dumbledore, leader of the Light. "As of three hours ago, the Statue of Secrecy was broken. The muggles, they know about us now." Her voice cracked. "And they're not reacting well," She whispered._

* * *

He could feel the magic tearing at him almost angrily, whipping at his body mercilessly. Harry Potter resisted the urge to screw his eyes shut despite the pressure on his eyes, causing them to water. As soon as the sensation had started, however, it had stopped.

"...You may go," He heard a woman's voice pronounce. Turning around sharply, he noticed a strange group of 4 standing in a magic circle, a strange creature and a woman next to them. They seemed to be preparing to leave, he noted. The woman, seeming to sense his presence, turned to face him, along with 2 of the adults in the group.

"Are you the Dimension Witch?" Harry ventured warily, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

The woman spared him a nod, a smirk pulling at her lips. Harry ploughed on. "I have heard that you fulfil wishes for a price. I have need for your services, and am willing to pay any price."

The Dimension Witch's eyes seemed to widen slightly, but nonetheless nodded, prompting him to continue. The entire group were staring at him now, save for the unconscious girl.

"Well, why don't you just send us off already and deal with the kid later?" An impatient voice interrupted. The witch smirked at the speaker -a tall male dressed in black- and ignored him. She motioned for Harry to continue, and seemed to not notice the thunderous expression on the male's face.

Harry breathed in deeply. Would this work? Words that he had uttered years ago came to his mind unexpectedly. _"More time? Why can't we just wish for Voldemort to never exist, for this war to stop entirely?"_

He closed his eyes briefly, the faces of the war dead flashing by in his mind's eye. He came to a decision. "I wish for Voldemort to never exist, for the war to have never occurred."

For a wild moment he thought she would agree to his wish, but the spark of hope was shattered as she slowly shook her head, her smirk disappearing. "I cannot do that, Harry Potter," He startled at the address - he had not given her his name. "The existence of Voldemort is too closely tied with the existence of yourself. If Voldemort ceased to exist, so would you."

"I am willing to pay that price," Harry said strongly.

"It's not that simple, Harry Potter. The mechanics and workings of the world are hard to understand in its various intricacies. There was a reason for the both of you to exist, and for the bond that ties you together. I cannot change that."

Harry clenched his fist tightly, holding back the frustration he felt and remembering Albus' reply to his bold statement years ago. Albus was right again. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Very well, then my wish is for more time to train to defeat him, time that will not affect my dimension."

The Dimension Witch smiled. "That is within my ability. I can send you on a journey across the dimensions, where the flow of time is different from that of your dimension. In other words, while you move across the worlds, the time you spend there may be years or even decades, but the time that pass in your world would be no longer than a day. Is that acceptable?"

Harry pushed down the relieved smile that wanted to surface. "Yes. What is the price for that?"

"The price for a wish is what you treasure most," the Dimension Witch started. "I can give you the time you need to defeat Voldemort, but not the peace you desire. Once he is defeated, you must leave your home."

"What?" He blurted out instinctively, feeling the ridiculousness of that notion seize him. What was the point of defeating Voldemort if there was no peace to be found? There was still the muggles, the surviving Death Eaters...all those would remain a very serious threat.

The pre-war Harry Potter would have adamantly demanded an explanation, or started arguing. But post-war Harry was not as reckless or hot-tempered, having reached the level of maturity that only loss could bring. He remained silent and pondered his options. Eliminating Voldemort would be an important step to peace. Besides, there would be the Order of the Pheonix who would help in re-establishing order. Harry Potter was no longer the idealistic soul he once was, and knew there was precious little the Order could do even after Voldemort was defeated. But he could still help mediate and implement measures before he defeated Voldemort, and if he planned properly enough, he could at least pave some of the way for Britain's freedom.

Besides, when it came down to it, this option was the only chance he had of even defeating Voldemort. He had no choice, not really.

So, "I accept," He said resolutely. "Will you require a magical oath?"

"Even as you speak, your words and magic bind you to the agreement," Yuuko said seriously. "Remember this, Harry James Potter. You must leave after Voldemort has been defeated."

He kept silent, offering only a terse nod in acknowledgement.

"You will leave with the group of travellers behind you." She motioned to the group behind him, and Harry nodded, a gesture of part thanks and part acknowledgement, before turning sharply and striding towards the group.

Sharp emerald eyes immediately evaluated the group. The man dressed in black was not holding a weapon, but it would be foolish to underestimate him – the wary stance spoke of a warrior's experience. Calluses on his hands -mostly right- indicated skill with a weapon, wielded in his right hand, though the man must have trained himself to fight left-handed as well.

Dangerous.

His eyes strayed to the other unknown, dressed in flowing white robes. Wizard, his mind supplied immediately at the sight of those robes. He smacked himself mentally, reminding himself that they were from different worlds and his old assumptions would no longer hold valid. Still, he was holding a staff, which Harry could sense was flowing with powerful magic. The man had great magical potential, hidden behind a smile that did not reach his eyes.

Dangerous.

The last of the group was a young man holding an unconscious girl. The old Harry might have dismissed the kid, but war had taught him that kids could be equally, if not more so, dangerous. Yet, the young man was crouched down, his back to the two dangers behind him, which indicated a lack of battle experience, and perhaps an easily trusting nature.

Innocent, but not vulnerable.

All this he took in within seconds, even as he managed a polite, stiff smile as he walked over, resisting a wince as his wounds stung at the movement. It would not do to show his weakness in front of these dangerous people, though it was clear all three of them had noticed his injuries and silently evaluating his physical state.

Then, magic flared up around him, the magical circle was set once more. His own magic instinctively rose up hostilely against the foreign power, and for a moment there was a clash of pure power, then everything went dark.

Consciousness returned slowly. Harry kept his breathing slow and steady, eyes shut even as he reached out with his senses to check his surroundings.

"I know you're awake," a gruff voice sounded, and Harry almost startled, barely managing to control it. Still, his act was up, and there was no reason pretending ignorance. He opened his eyes, with an instinctual flick of his hands to bring his wand to his hand, only to panic when the familiar sensation of the slim wood in his hands did not come.

He leapt into a defensive position, battle-honed instincts guiding him as his hands patted down his usual weapon-hiding spots in his clothes. Fuck, they were all gone.

His eyes scanned the strangers in the room. Muggles, his mind supplied, until he noticed a magical aura to his right. A wizard working with muggles? What the-

The anomaly startled him enough to give him pause, and then he remembered. Voldemort, his capture, the Dimension Witch, his magic fighting-

He relaxed very slightly, now aware he was not in a hostile situation. They stared at him in varying degrees of surprise, though the men dressed in black and white respectively seemed unsuprised.

He could recognize the two men, the kid and the young girl lying unconscious in a corner from the Dimension Witch's place, but there was two more unknowns. A young couple were standing in front of the group, holding...puppets?

"Who are you?" He demanded, eyes narrowing and uncaring of the rudeness he was showing.

The woman spoke first, her voice soft and reassuring. "I am Arashi, and," she gestured to the man beside her, "this is Sorata, my husband. We own this place, and you are here because we owe Yuuko a debt."

"Yuuko?"

"That's the Dimension Witch," the man in flowing white robes picked up cheerfully. "Fai D. Flowright at your service, but you can just call me Fai."

"Kurogane," the gruff voice he had heard came from the man in black, still staring at him piercingly.

"I'm Syaoran, and that is Sakura," the kid continued, easily hiding his hesitance and surprise behind a warm smile.

The tension was thick in the room, and Harry was reminded that he had probably caused it, reacting as he did. "Harry Potter," He introduced himself neutrally. "I apologise for my rudeness." He was slightly sorry for spoiling the atmosphere, but he would never directly apologise for his instincts, which had saved his life countless times.

"Not to worry, not to worry!" Sorata dismissed cheerily. "Now take a seat, and we'll resume with our history lessons!"

Harry moved closer to them, but sat with his back against the wall, slinking into the shadows silently. With a jolt, he realised that his injuries had been bandaged, the muggle way. It wasn't the first time he had been treated with muggle medicine, but after his experience with magical healing, the muggle way always seemed barbaric and backward.

While he wasn't a professionally certified healer (And what were professional certifications in war, anyway? He had been 'Order-certified', and that was enough for anyone.), he had his emergency healing spells to fall back on. Perhaps later, when he was away from prying eyes, he would attempt to heal himself. Limited mobility could be the death of him, especially in an unknown world.

"Anyway, I'll gloss over the start again, just to catch us all up," Sorata was saying with a wink, "This is the Hanshin Republic-" he blathered on about the tiger being their symbol, their national sport...Harry tuned the information out, picking up only the pertinent facts.

Kurogane let out a quiet snore beside him.

"Hey, no sleeping during class!" Sorata shouted, pointing at the sleeping man indignantly. Then, before anyone could react, a loud thud sounded as something seemed to smack Kurogane's head from behind.

Everyone reacted badly. In a matter of seconds, everyone was on their feet, alert and ready to defend against the unknown threat. Harry, who had been leaning against the wall just beside Kurogane, startled so badly he instinctively turned and sent a blast of magic at the threat. There was a loud smash and dust flew everywhere. When the dust had cleared, everyone was staring at the deep gouge left on the wall, courtesy of Harry's accidental magic.

"What was that?!" Kurogane demanded, and for a moment Harry was unsure if he was referring to Harry's reaction, or the hit. "I didn't feel any attackers!"

"You were in a corner," Fai analysed logically, clearly also putting Harry's reaction aside for the moment. "If he threw anything it wouldn't have hit you there. It had to come from above."

"Or the wall itself," Harry muttered, ignoring the incredulous glances he got from the muggles, who were obviously unaware of the myraid of magical traps that could be set up in a simple wall. He raised a hand against the cool wall, but there was no magical residue save for his own in the gouge in the wall. "But no, the wall is clean."

"Uh...what?" Sorata said, looking confused. "That was just my kudan."

"What?" 3 voices simultaneously asked, clearly confused. Harry was too busy searching his memory for any mention of a branch of magic named 'kudan'.

"Everyone in this world has a kudan attached to them," Arashi cut in at this point. "What you use it for, how you use it, its up to the user."

"A spirit guardian of sorts, then?" Fai asked.

"Well, you _could _call it that," Sorata shrugged. "It's difficult to explain. It's something you'll have to see and experience for yourself to truly understand." He glanced at his watch. "Well, it's getting late, you better head off to bed! Kurogane and Fai will share a room, is that fine?"

Kurogane grumbled a bit but acquiesed in the end, with Fai slinging an arm across his shoulder playfully.

"Can I stay with Sakura, please?" Syaoran asked lowly, holding the girl's hand protectively.

"That's alright," Arashi said reassuringly. "Harry, would you mind sharing a room with Kurogane and Fai then?"

Harry hesitated very slightly, but nodded his head in agreement. While he knew he would be unable to sleep with two unknowns in the room, he wasn't about to be ungrateful to the only people they knew in this world. "I'm sorry for the wall," he started, glancing at the deep gouge that everyone had carefully avoided mentioning. Harry ran a finger over the mark, and tried to repair it. A warm tingle ran down his fingertips and the wall was repaired, good as new.

Thank Merlin. He had never been exceptionally good at wandless magic, despite Albus having personally tutored him, considering that he had only been taught for about a year before Albus' untimely demise.

"That's amazing," Sorata whistled. Harry gave a slightly strained smile; wandless magic always took a lot out of the caster.

"It's what I should do," Harry said. "Thank you for your hospitality." With that, he retired to the same room he had seen Fai and Kurogane entering, never fully turning his back to the muggles.

* * *

Even as they dragged their futons further away from each other -with only Fai doing the exact opposite to aggravate Kurogane- Harry couldn't help but feel extremely uncomfortable sleeping in such close proximity to the people he had recognized as dangerous. He laid still and unmoving in his futon, acutely aware that the other two were as awake and alert as he was.

Despite earlier revelations that Kurogane had given his sword up, and Fai his tattoo to the Dimension Witch, both claiming they had lost their means of defence, Harry was not naive enough to think that would stop them from being a danger to him.

He felt naked and vulnerable without his wand and weapons. While he could perform wandless magic and was relatively adept at hand-to-hand combat, his proficiency in these two skills was pathetic enough that he would barely last a minute against a truly determined enemy.

Yet tiredness from the fight with the Death Eaters, the magical stuggle with dimensional travel, and his show of wandless magic was beginning to creep up on him. It suddenly dawned on him how long a day he truly had. Within a matter of hours, he had gone from a simple mission to another world, full of unknowns and hidden dangers.

"Hey," Kurogane suddenly spoke, and Harry turned his head to face the man on the other side of the room, tense and alert. "I won't hurt you when you're sleeping, kid. Go to sleep."

Harry sat up slowly to face the man. "Do you swear never to harm me in any way, shape or form while I'm unconscious for the next 8 hours?" He could have worded the oath more carefully, but his mind was getting more and more sluggish by the minute.

"Yes," Kurogane said seriously, apparently recognizing the workings of an oath. Harry's magic reached out and re-affirmed the promise, and he relaxed slightly.

"I swear not to do anything that can be construed to mean harm in any way possible, as judged by one Harry James Potter, for the next 8 hours, as long as he does nothing that can be construed to mean harm in any way towards me in return," Fai said quietly, equally serious.

Harry relaxed at Fai's oath, which was easier to accept. Kurogane's promise had seemed suspicious, with the man taking no means to ensure his own protection, but Harry could understand Fai.

"I accept, and so mote it be," he spoke easily, feeling the magic lacing their agreement.

"Well, goodnight then, Harry," Fai said cheerfully, flopping down onto his futon casually.

"Night," Harry murmured back out of courtesy. It seemed ridiculous that he should be concerned about courtesy now, when it was the last thing he cared for in the past few years. In the war, the only thing that had mattered was survival, and courtesy was merely a false front for manipulation.

With that last thought, he drifted off into slumber.

* * *

I must say that I prefer this chapter to the old one. I have taken into consideration your suggestions; it's true that I was following the plotline too closely last time that I neglected to flesh out relationships between characters, and I think it ended up being merely a retelling of Tsubasa with an extra character. Hopefully that will not happen again!

Any suggestions or constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated.

I had a random thought while typing this out. Kurogane and Fai are kind of similar to Heero and Duo, aren't they? Definitely not identical, but they do share some traits.

Icylone


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: It is the year 2002. Britain has been left for death, and hope has forsaken the war-ravaged land. Captured, with death only moments away, the Order reaches out for one last option – More time. Harry joins the team, rewriting destiny forever. Sakura/Syaoran. No other pairings.

Warnings: Mentions of torture, slight gore. Character death.

Rewritten version of EtF, edited

A/N: My greatest thanks to Obsidian Buterfly, who reminded me that Fai could not do healing magic! I have since edited the previous chapter. For the rest, please don't hesitate to tell me if you feel anything is off. I appreciate all reviews :)

Last Chapter:

"_Well, goodnight then, Harry," Fai said cheerfully, flopping down onto his futon casually._

"_Night," Harry murmured back out of courtesy. It seemed ridiculous that he should be concerned about courtesy now, when it was the last thing he cared for in the past few years. In the war, the only thing that had mattered was survival, and courtesy was merely a false front for manipulation. _

_With that last thought, he drifted off into slumber._

* * *

**CHAPTER 3 - Muggles**

"_It's a person's heart that controls the kudan. So if a person can command a strong kudan, that is proof that the person is strong."_

Masayoshi, TRC Volume 2, Chapter 006

So why didn't he have one?

Harry tapped his fingers on the windowsill impatiently – an action he did when he was thinking particularly hard. He had been absolutely useless today, taking up the role of spectator and observer as Fai, Kurogane, and Syaoran unleashed their kudan to get Sakura's feather back.

It wasn't like he would have fought even if he had a kudan – the sharp edges of his impulsive Gryffindor temper had long since been eroded away, when he had learnt the hard way that impulsiveness bought nothing but failure and death. He wasn't the same first-year boy who would jump through an unknown trapdoor without sufficient back-up or information. He did not jump into battles for just anyone, especially for people he knew nothing about and was wary of.

Still. Where was his kudan and why did he not have one? All of their kudan had come to them through dreams, but Harry had only nightmares in his sleep, just as normal. Why was he different? Sorata had theorised that kudan were gods that attached themselves to all citizens of Hanshin, to protect all of them. While Harry was sceptical of such a theory (after all, muggles tended to attribute what they did not understand to the most ridiculous reasons), Sorata was of this world and would have a greater understanding of what was going on compared to Harry.

He wondered if this was what Albus had wanted him to look for. The powers that each world offered, combined, could be what was needed to get rid of Voldemort once and for all. But how was he to get the power of a kudan?

"_What belongs to you will belong," _What sounded suspiciously like Luna's sing-song and dreamy voice echoed in his head, and he sighed. That was true. There was nothing much he could do in this case.

Emerald eyes gazed out of the window and fell upon the lone figure standing in the rain, getting drenched. He felt a small stab of sympathy for the boy. Ever since Sakura had woken up and asked who Syaoran was, he had stood out in the rain, clearly trying to collect himself and hide any tears.

Even as Harry watched, Syaoran's kudan appeared next to him, and mere seconds later, so did Fai's and Kurogane's, the wings of their kudan spreading out to shelter the boy.

Harry's hand, without him realising it, had moved from the windowsill to rest upon the cool window, almost covering his sight of the figure tenderly. He closed his eyes and felt his heart clench as he remembered all that he had lost. In that fleeting moment he fully understood the pain the boy was going through. A sad smile tugged at the edges of his lips and he breathed out the incantation for a warming spell, feeling the magic leave his palm to envelop the silent figure outside.

When Syaoran looked up, startled by the warming sensation, the only sign of Harry having been there was the fog of his warm breath on the window.

* * *

"Kid," a familiar voice said gruffly. Harry had long since sensed the man's approach and managed not to tense up.

"Kurogane," Harry turned to regard the man curiously. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Though on second thought, the man had probably woken up the moment Harry did, despite their shared oaths.

Kurogane didn't answer the question, but reached into his pocket to draw out a bottled drink. And if he had seen Harry tense up at the action, he did not make any sign of it.

Slowly, almost as if to give Harry time to register his actions, he handed it over to him.

"What is it?" Harry asked warily, not taking his eyes off Kurogane to look at the drink.

Kurogane scowled a little. "Bottled fruit juice," he muttered. Harry almost felt nostalgic at the Snape-like scowl.

"Why?" He was getting more and more confused. Did the man seriously follow him up to the balcony in the middle of the night to give him a bottle of juice?

Kurogane sighed, looking slightly irritated. "Look, kid. You haven't eaten anything since you came into this world. I recognize the signs of prolonged starvation when I see it. You need to start from bottled fruit juices, otherwise your system will not be able to handle it."

He was momentarily taken aback, and Kurogane continued to meet him firmly in the eyes, looking more and more impatient by the second. Finally, Kurogane simply shoved the bottle into Harry's hands, ignoring the way Harry flinched at the action.

"Drink it or throw it away. I'm going back to sleep," Kurogane said gruffly, and turned to walk away.

Harry hesitated, watching the man walk away silently, and finally managed to open his mouth. "Thank you," he said quietly, but loud enough for the man to hear.

Kurogane disappeared behind the door, giving no sign that he had heard Harry's words. Harry heard the quiet click of the door closing, and his gaze fell upon the bottle of juice. It was unopened, but there were a number of spells that could have fixed the bottle after it was opened, or even with technology. Just because Kurogane was a muggle did not mean that Harry was about to underestimate him. Or perhaps, it was precisely because of the fact that he was a muggle that Harry would not trust him easily.

He grasped the bottle tightly and muttered the series of spells he had memorised and performed for all food and drinks before he ingested them, checking for any poisons or dangerous substances.

It was clean.

Harry felt a strange sense of guilt at not trusting the other male's kind gesture, but dismissed it. Kurogane was a dangerous man, and he had no reason to trust him. Gazing at the bottle speculatively, and resisting the urge to throw it off the balcony, Harry wondered if he was too paranoid for thinking that his spells might not be good enough for poisons beyond his world. Perhaps there were poisons or potions in other worlds that his spells could not detect...

He sighed quietly. Hunger clawed at his insides, but it was an old ache he was so used to that he barely noticed it anymore. The sight of the drink had reminded him of his growing hunger, but he was not about to take any foolish risks. He had a world to save.

He turned, feeling the wind ruffle his hair playfully, and smoothed down his fringe to cover the famous scar. Then he walked back the way Kurogane had gone, smoothly dumping the bottle in a trash bin as he went.

* * *

They stood in a half-circle, and Harry felt the powerful magic envelop them. His own magic rose up aggressively, but he knew now to suppress it, and kept a tight rein on his magic as they were pulled mercilessly through a tight tunnel. Lights flashed past them at an astonishing speed, and he resisted the urge to close his eyes.

Syaoran turned his head back suddenly, and Harry instinctively mimicked him, curious to know what the other boy was looking at. For a moment he thought he saw a figure cloaked in darkness, watching him. An icy hand seemed to grab his chest, and for a moment he couldn't breathe.

Then he blinked, and there was nothing once more.

Had he imagined it?

Before he could think further on it, he felt himself falling, and panicked as gravity pulled them down rapidly. His body instinctively twisted and he rolled as he hit the hard ground to absorb the impact, and stood gracefully.

He sighed as a quick check revealed that he had not sustained any injuries from the fall. His relief was short-lived, however, as a quick scan of his area told him that they were surrounded.

"Muggles," he hissed, feeling the familiar wave of rage and hate envelop him. He shifted into a battle-ready stance, barely resisting the temptation to attack. Under normal circumstances, they would have been unconscious on the ground by now, but this was not normal. The muggles were holding long sticks of all things, instead of guns or the advanced and dangerous technology they usually used.

They planned to take Harry Potter out with long sticks? Were they daft?

"Harry," a quiet voice came from behind him, and he twirled, fist already flying at the person, who caught it easily in his hand. The familiar blue eyes and blonde hair made him stop.

"Fai," he replied as calmly, as if he had not just almost lost his self-control, and straightened, tugging his fist out of Fai's hand roughly. His instincts and magic were still raging, and he struggled to get himself under control.

Muggles always had a way of breaking his usual iron-clad control.

He belatedly realized that everyone was staring at him blankly, and felt momentarily ashamed. He had been on the knife's edge between his usual calm and crazed rage ever since he had left his world.

"Sorr-" He stopped mid-word as he registered a sharp movement in the corner of his vision, instinctively flinching away from it. Unfortunately he had expected a spell, or a bolt of energy, or anything but the meaty hand grabbing his own bony one, pulling him roughly.

Harry lost it.

He had already been teetering over the edge, and the rough tug startled him so badly that his control shattered.

"DEPULSO! INCARCEROUS!" He screamed, an edge of hysteria in his voice, and stumbled as the hand was ripped away from him suddenly, its owner hitting a fruit stall nearby and collapsing it, ropes magically binding his arms and legs together.

He straightened, breathing heavily, and the crackle of energy running up his hand was a sign of how agitated he was.

"Do you know who I am?!" The bound man was roaring, face turning purple in his rage and humiliation. "I'm the son of the Ryanban!"

Emerald eyes settled on the bound figure coolly, and narrowed dangerously. Smoothly, he walked over to the man, roughly pulling him up by his shirt. The crowd and his minions cleared the way for him, all looking terrified out of their wits as they realized how useless their long sticks were against him.

As Harry leaned in closer to the figure, his senses tingled, and his eyes narrowed even further. This man...

"The magic you hold was stolen from someone else," Harry said, his voice flat and emotionless, which only terrified the man more.

"WHAT RUBBIS-" The man spluttered, flecks of spit flying into Harry's face.

"Shut up," Harry snapped, and the man immediately shut his mouth, whimpering slightly. "I want to know where the magic you hold came from."

"M-my father gave..." The man was shaking terribly by now, and Harry did not have to look into his mind to know that he was being honest. He threw the man back onto the floor roughly, wiping the man's saliva from his face with distaste.

"Your father is the Ryanban, yes?" He said casually, straightening his clothes nonchalantly.

The terrified man nodded frantically, and Harry saw that the man had wet his pants. A frigid smile pulled at his lips and the man let out a loud whimper at the sight.

"Don't worry," Harry said, smile growing wider, "I'll let the two of you die together. Once I find him, I'll come for you."

There was utter silence around him, and Harry tensed when he caught a movement in the periphery of his vision, but it was only a young girl with her hair tied up in a long ponytail. She looked exhilarated but also slightly fearful, and seemed to be wondering whether she should approach him.

Harry turned, and met the faces of his companions. Syaoran looked taken aback, but there was also concern mixed in. Fai and Kurogane's faces held indecipherable expressions, but there was nothing condemning in their expressions, which was surprising. But what surprised Harry the most was Sakura, whom he had expected to be fearful, but instead looked at him with genuine concern and sympathy.

He didn't want sympathy, however, and looked away. "I'll find you guys later," he mumbled to the ground, and walked past them swiftly, the crowd parting for him instinctively. A few of them were bold enough to clap him on the back and give him a cheerful smile, some even congratulating him. He did not know why they did that, nor did he want to know why.

He just wanted to be alone, to try to forget the memories that wanted to surge up and drown him in them.

His feet carried him to a river, and he sat at the edge of the small bridge, staring down at the water below blankly.

"_Luna," Harry whispered, grabbing the cool and bloodied hand. "I'll save you, don't worry. We'll bring you back now."_

_The girl smiled slightly, wincing at the slight movement. "Don't be silly, Harry." Her voice was rough and ragged, nowhere near the airy and dreamy tone she usually adopted._

_The airy and dreamy tone that got her into this state._

"_I-I won't...live...past this," she continued, her breathing coming in harsh gasps now. Her usually pale face was white, and she shivered violently as if cold. But her eyes were never more focused. Clouded grey eyes met grief-stricken emerald eyes intently, as if reading his mind._

"_I'll kill them all for this," Harry hissed, tears falling freely from his eyes, knowing that Luna was beyond saving._

"_Don't...succumb to revenge...Harry Potter," She favored him with one last smile, then her grey eyes dulled and her hand slipped from his. _

_She was dead._

_He choked on a sob, ignoring how Ron tried to pull him away. Shakily, he reached out to close her eyes._

Harry blinked away tears, mentally chastising himself for letting his guard down and recalling memories he had buried years ago. There was never time to grieve in the war. People were relying on him and he had to deliver.

He shook his head, wiping away the moisture in his eyes roughly.

Soft footsteps sounded from behind him and he tensed, before his magic recognized that the presence was Sakura's and relaxed marginally.

"Harry?" She called out softly, stopping some distance behind him, perhaps so as not to startle him. Clearly she was unaware that he had already sensed her before her call.

He turned to face her, and managed a smile. "Sakura," he greeted cordially. "Why are you here?" He was slightly surprised that Syaoran had allowed her out of his sight, and he scanned his surroundings, seeing Syaoran a distance away. The boy nodded at him and moved out of sight, to give the two some privacy.

The boy was too trusting, Harry thought, exasperated. Harry had yet to even have a full conversation with him and here he was, trusting Harry with his Sakura.

Ah. Harry's sharp eyes caught a movement in the distance, and smiled slightly. Perhaps not so trusting, then. Syaoran was keeping a close watch. Though, he should have known that with such a distance, if Harry decided to do anything he would be too far away to help in time.

Sakura took a seat next to him, and stared up at him with soft green eyes, a lighter shade than his own bright emerald ones.

"You seem like you are in so much pain," she said softly.

He managed a tight smile, startled that she had been so direct. "Painful memories," he said, divulging more than he usually would have. It was easy to trust her. Something about her reminded him of Ginny.

Thinking of Ginny made his heart hurt, and he looked away from Sakura's questioning eyes.

"Why aren't you scared of me?" He blurted out.

She seemed surprised at the question. "I'm not scared of you. You are helping me even though I don't remember all of you. And... you are not a bad person. I can feel it. You just seem so tired. Like you are carrying the world on your shoulders."

She reminded him of Luna, in that instant. Someone who did things based on a logic only she got, but whom was almost never wrong, and saw things no one else could see. He could never fully understand Luna, and he wondered if he would ever fully understand Sakura.

Perhaps that was why he trusted her.

"You remind me somewhat of someone," he said quietly, his eyes widening as he divulged more than he had ever wanted to. But Sakura was only listening quietly, her presence giving him calm and reassurance.

"Her name was Luna." He choked on the name, feeling the familiar grief overwhelming him. "She was kind of dreamy and airy, and she believed in all sorts of creatures no one ever saw. They used to call her Looney, actually." He remembered how Hermione used to argue with Luna over those creatures fondly, smiling slightly. "We were in a magical war. The Ministry of Magic fell, and the non-magicals – we call them muggles – they found out about magic. Because it was a war, many muggles had been killed, and they saw us as a threat they needed to eliminate."

His voice was hard, and he clenched his jaw as he struggled with his hatred for muggles. "They killed many of us. Our world tended to ignore the muggles, and so we were unprepared when they launched a full-out assault. We tried to hide. Those who couldn't blend in were caught. Luna...she was always unique. Different. The muggles caught her."

He realized that tears were flowing down his face by now, and his voice was starting to shake, but he was so lost in his memories that he could not be bothered to wipe them away. "They tortured her. Then, they wanted to know the secret behind magic and why only some of us could do it. They-they cut...they experimented on those that they caught."

"By the time we found her.." Harry's voice died and he bit his lip harshly, unable to continue. Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see her crying too. For a moment he regretted telling her about it, though he had omitted the gory details. There had been blood everywhere, needles and tubes and all sorts of things inserted into Luna's prone body. Her head, and parts of her body had been cut open grotesquely, the muggles poking at her internal organs trying to find out what made her so different from muggles. They had not bothered with anaesthetics or painkillers. By that time, wizards and witches had been reduced to sub-humans in muggles' eyes.

He had painfully tortured and killed every single muggle he had come across at that base that day. The Order members had been horrified, but they had been far kinder, felling the muggles with quick blows.

"What happened?" Sakura asked softly. It surprised him – he had thought she would want him to stop talking.

He smiled bitterly. "If not for the plague with her name next to her, none of us would have recognized her." At that point Luna had resembled nothing but a gory mass of red, nothing like her old self. "She died."

Sakura gasped quietly and pulled him into a hug. He had missed such contact – it reminded him of Hermione, who always pulled him and Ron into a giant hug when things got terribly low. Ever since Ron had died her hugs had always felt different, more desperate and possessive. He missed their bear hugs.

But Sakura was not Hermione. Her hug was different – kind and reassuring like Hermione's and Ginny's, but there was an undercurrent of tension that came with hugging a stranger. He pulled away first, quietly wiping his tears away.

Had he really broken down in front of a stranger? For a brief moment he felt ashamed, but then Sakura offered him a tentative but genuinely warm smile and he realized that nothing between them would change. She would not look upon him differently for his breakdown.

"Thank you," he said, offering the first sincere smile since ages ago to the girl. There was something special about her, he realized. She had a kindness that radiated out from her, that could ease the pain of anyone.

They sat in silence for a moment, both collecting themselves.

"Syaoran...is special," Harry finally decided to say, albeit vaguely, so that he would not break the contract between Syaoran and Yuuko. "He cares for you."

"I know," She whispered. "Sometimes he feels so familiar, but I can't remember anything."

And she would never remember. Harry felt another pang of sadness for Syaoran. "Remembering the past isn't everything, Sakura," he finally said. "Remember that you also have the chance to create new memories now."

She frowned, clearly thinking his words through.

Harry decided to let her ponder more on it on her own. There was a limit to how much he could meddle, after all. They had to figure things out on their own. "It's getting late. I'll bring you back, alright?"

She nodded and he offered her a hand to pull her up, and they walked back to the house together.

* * *

End Chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: It is the year 2002. Britain has been left for death, and hope has forsaken the war-ravaged land. Captured, with death only moments away, the Order reaches out for one last option – More time. Harry joins the team, rewriting destiny forever. Sakura/Syaoran. No other pairings.

Warnings: Language

Last Chapter:

_And she would never remember. Harry felt another pang of sadness for Syaoran. "Remembering the past isn't everything, Sakura," he finally said. "Remember that you also have the chance to create new memories now."_

_She frowned, clearly thinking his words through. _

_Harry decided to let her ponder more on it on her own. There was a limit to how much he could meddle, after all. They had to figure things out on their own. "It's getting late. I'll bring you back, alright?"_

_She nodded and he offered her a hand to pull her up, and they walked back to the house together._

* * *

**CHAPTER 4 – Twisted Mirror**

* * *

December 10, 1997  
Number 12, Grimmauld Place  
Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix

_Things were getting heated._

"_This is ridiculous!" Sirius roared, slamming his hand on the mahogany table. "When will they realize that we only want to help?"_

_The tension in the room was thick and suffocating. Albus Dumbledore sighed wearily and pushed his half-moon glasses up, picking up the papers he had spread out over the table for the rest to look at. "They fear what they do not understand. We cannot fault them for that."_

"_If I may, Professor," Hermione spoke up hesitantly, and Dumbledore nodded at her to continue. "The muggles have learnt that many wizards and witches are ignorant of their culture. They are identifying us through...well...the way we dress."_

"_What?" Ron spluttered, appalled. "What has our clothes got to do with anything?"_

_She sighed irritably. "Honestly, Ronald, have you seen the way we try to blend in?"_

"_Yeah, remember that Archie bloke who wore a nightdress to the Quidditch World Cup because he liked 'a healthy breeze around his privates'?" Harry added soberly. It was difficult to enjoy the humor in it when he realized that people like old Archie would be killed or tortured for their eccentric dress._

"_It would mean that a lot of innocents would be unfairly arrested," Remus said, frowning. "What about muggles who have poor fashion sense?"_

"_It is a flawed policy," Hermione agreed vehemently, looking frustrated. "But this is not the worst of it. The magicals are not in their records, even Muggleborns tend to disappear from their records when they turn eleven and go to magical schools. There are rumors that the muggles will soon start identifying us using these records."_

"_My father and some of my old contacts might be able to help in that," Tonks said, leaning forward. "I know of people who are good at hacking into these records. They should be able to create records for the Order."_

"_Good, good," Dumbledore agreed thoughtfully. "I believe I know some Obliviators who could be of use as well. That's settled, then."_

"_I think we should report here every morning for Granger to check our muggle attires," Alastor said gruffly, magical eye whirling around to look for any signs of discontent at his suggestion._

_Some of the Order members looked frustrated at the inconvenience, but only nodded sullenly in agreement._

"_We should probably start reading up on muggle culture too," Arthur said, looking excited at the thought. "I have some books at home that I'll bring over tomorrow."_

* * *

December 25, 1997  
Number 12, Grimmauld Place  
Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix

"_Merry Christmas, Harry," he muttered sardonically, as the clock struck twelve. One could usually hear the cheers from neighbouring houses or from the busy streets at this time, but with the war as it was, no one was in the mood for celebrating. _

_He raised the bottle of Firewhiskey to his lips and took a long drink, feeling it burn its way down his throat._

"_Harry."_

"_Hermione. Want a bottle?" He squinted at the bushy-haired figure who stood in front of him, her arms crossed._

_She snatched the bottle of Firewhiskey from his hand fiercely, holding it away from him. He sighed explosively and leaned back on the couch, staring at her with feigned disinterest._

"_Here to lecture me too?" He finally said, when minutes had passed in stony silence._

_She sighed, and he looked away, hating the pity in her eyes. Warm hands covered his own cold ones as she knelt in front of him, and he realized how skeletal thin she was, how tired she looked. It was exactly what he saw when he looked into a mirror nowadays. _

"_Luna wouldn't have wanted you to-" She started. It was the wrong thing to say._

"_Well, FUCK what Luna would have wanted!" He snarled, snatching his hands away and storming away from her to the fireplace, breathing heavily as he stared at the dying embers. He tried to calm himself. He cared for Hermione, and he did not want to hurt her. "She's dead. She can't have anything now," he said, forced calm in his voice. "I don't want to talk about her, Hermione."_

_The warning in his voice was unmistakable, but Hermione Granger was equally, if not more, stubborn than him. _

"_She didn't want you to succumb to revenge, Harry," Hermione said doggedly. "Torturing muggles is considered revenge." Her voice softened. "I don't want to lose you, Harry. You were never like this."_

_He refused to face her, clenching his fists and trying to control the white-hot anger that always came with the subject of Luna. "I was naïve before, Hermione. I believed that no one, except Voldemort and his Death Eaters, could be so cruel. I wanted to defend the helpless and innocent muggles against them." He smirked sardonically at his naiveté. "Maybe I realized that they aren't so innocent and helpless. Maybe I realized that they are monsters just like Voldemort. And maybe," he turned around to face Hermione, face cold with rage. "maybe I think they aren't worth saving any more."_

_Hermione looked at the man she had grown up with, frightened beyond belief at what he had turned into. "Not all muggles are like that," she protested, but it was a weak statement. Even her faith in muggles was starting to crumble. Her voice grew stronger. "My parents were muggles, Harry. So they are not worth saving?" She challenged._

_He didn't falter. "They are dead, Hermione. They are not relevant to the world as it is now."_

_Her hand was cutting through the air before she knew it, slapping him so hard he stumbled. He looked up at her with furious and betrayed eyes. _

"_Look at yourself, Harry Potter," she hissed, tears forming in her eyes. "If you think that, then you are no better than Voldemort." She turned and ran up the stairs, away from him. He heard the sound of a door slamming moments later._

_He stood for a long time, staring at the direction she had gone. Then, with a snarl, he picked up the bottle of Firewhiskey and threw it at the opposite wall, watching as it shattered everywhere. _

_He was nothing like Voldemort, he thought. Hermione was wrong._

_But there was a niggling doubt at the back of his mind._

_What if she was right?_

* * *

"If the Ryanban is so bad, why haven't you risen up against him?" Kurogane said, for once not reading the book he had bought from Hanshin, which spoke of how serious he was being. Somehow, Harry felt that the book had made the man seem more human, more approachable. It had hinted of a side behind the gruff and bloodthirsty exterior he usually had, at least.

Harry shook his head to clear it. Here they were, having a serious discussion, and he was having ridiculous thoughts.

The girl, whom he had learned was called Chun-Hyang (he had still not quite managed to pronounce the name correctly), looked down. "We did try, several times. But the Ryanban's castle has some kind of magic surrounding it. We could never get close enough. But," she perked up, staring at Harry with undisguised excitement. "You have magic! You could help us breach the castle's defenses."

"I'm not very good in breaking wards, especially wards as strong as these," Harry admitted. He had felt the wards, and it could rival the wards at Hogwarts before the castle had fallen. Ward-breaking had never been his forte, having never studied Ancient Runes, and he had left that to Bill, and when Bill had died, Filius. That, and he was not about to rashly promise his help to a stranger, no matter how sympathetic he felt towards their plight.

She looked crushed at the admission, and he could see the beginnings of tears before Syaoran interjected. "Don't worry, we will help you. We will find a way, somehow."

Syaoran would have made a good Gryffindor, Harry thought, once again exasperated by the boy's heroic and somewhat naïve tendencies. He silenced the part of him that was drawing parallels between Syaoran and young Harry Potter.

"You could always kidnap his son to get to him," Fai said cheerily, and Harry almost smirked at the statement, which, while delivered almost jokingly, spoke of the core of steel the man had. He saw, out of the corner of his eyes, Kurogane smirk slightly as well.

"We can't!" The girl said vehemently. "The Ryanban watches every corner of Ryonfi. If anything happens to his son...he'll command magical attacks on us from the castle, attacks that we can't defend against."

"What a coward," Kurogane scowled.

"You said that the Ryanban suddenly got stronger about a year or so ago," Fai said slowly, clearly thinking hard. "I wonder if that has anything to do with Sakura's feathers..." He gave Syaoran a significant look, and Harry could almost see the boy following the logic and becoming more invested in the situation.

"It wouldn't add up. It was only a short while ago that the feathers were scattered," Kurogane pointed out.

"But," Harry spoke up before he could stop himself. "Yuuko said that time passes differently in different dimensions..."

Fai looked pleased at his conclusion. "Exactly." He simply said, allowing them to draw their own conclusions.

The man had figured it all out so quickly? Harry quickly added 'highly intelligent' to his mental observations of Fai.

"I'll go and check if there is a feather," Syaoran said, already standing. Harry was about to sigh at his impulsiveness when Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand tightly.

"But-" she said hesitantly, clearly worried about letting him go. Syaoran smiled warmly at her and knelt beside her.

"I'll be fine, Princess Sakura. I'll get your feather back for you, I promise."

Harry turned away from the intimate moment, feeling uncomfortable at how much Syaoran had resembled his younger self at that moment. Syaoran's impulsiveness stemmed from his strong desire to protect and save the girl he loved so deeply, the girl who would never remember him.

The cynical side of him thought that the impulsiveness would eventually fade when Syaoran realized he couldn't save Sakura from everything. Harry shook it off, clearing his throat to break the moment.

"You still need to find a way around his wards before you can do anything," Harry said pragmatically.

"Can you do something about that?" Kurogane directed the question towards Fai. Harry wondered at the readiness both men were showing to help Syaoran.

"Nope, not a chance!" Fai shrugged, impossibly wide grin in place. Kurogane grumbled at his uselessness.

"We could speak to Yuuko!" Mokona offered, and before they could respond, a hologram of the Dimension Witch had appeared, staring down at them with her usual smirk.

"Can we have an earlier warning next time?!" Kurogane raged, having flinched back at the suddenness of her appearance.

"Ah, Mokona," Yuuko said indulgently, her smirk growing wider at Kurogane's flustered expression. "What can I do for you?"

"Wh-What is that!" Chun-Hyang demanded, clearly having never seen such technology before. It was probably closer to magic than technology, but Harry had seen muggles using it before.

"We need something to help us break the wards surrounding the castle," Syaoran said calmly, clearly ignoring the girl's bewilderment to discuss more pertinent matters.

Yuuko hummed. "You have two magicians in your group. Or wizard, whichever the term they prefer," she added, winking at Harry, who made no response. To be honest, he had not anticipated seeing her again. How was he supposed to act – grateful, or pretend that she hadn't practically offered his world its only chance at survival?

"Harry here can't break it, as do I," Fai said, and there was an edge in his voice that Harry could not decipher. "I turned over the source of my magic to you."

"The markings that made up your payment to me were a device that held your powers in check. They are now originally as it should be," Yuuko said, clearly ignoring the hidden warning in Fai's voice.

Merlin.

Harry almost took a step back in shock. He turned to gaze intently at the magician, who had a cheery smile firmly fixed on his face, though his eyes were colder than ever. Fai was clearly unhappy that Yuuko had revealed that.

But that was not important at the moment. What was important was that the man had lied to their faces. The tattoo was not his means of defense. He had never given up his means of defense like he had claimed in Hanshin. Which meant that Harry had been vulnerable and near to a metaphorical basilisk all the while – cunning and secretive, all along holding the power in their little group.

His first reaction was anger and betrayal, which was ridiculous given how he had never allowed himself to trust the other man in the first place. But then his mind wandered off to another important tangent.

Why would Fai want to suppress his powers?

Or perhaps, someone else had done it. Was the man a threat? But then, why would he be unhappy about losing the restriction? Did he -and Merlin this was a ridiculous notion- _want _his powers to be restricted?

Harry filed all his theories into his growing list of observations, deeply unsettled. He had the terrible feeling that he was stepping into a situation bigger than he could ever imagine.

So unsettled he was, that he had missed Fai's reply to Yuuko's unspoken question, and the next thing he knew, Fai was withdrawing his staff from the wardrobe. Harry couldn't help it – he tensed at the action, his magic already unsettled at the theories he had formed.

He knew the other man had caught his instinctive reaction, but Fai merely smiled reassuringly and passed the staff over to Mokona, whose mouth opened bigger than it should be able to and swallowed the entire staff whole. The rest of the group was gaping in shock, but Harry had seen far weirder, and he was too preoccupied with the issue of Fai to really care.

"Well, let's go," Syaoran said, grasping the magical device from Yuuko tightly. Kurogane and Fai got up immediately. Harry, from where he was leaning against the wall, suddenly felt awkward.

Should he go with them?

He had promised Hermione, and himself, a long time ago that he would never jump into a battle without due consideration.

But the Ryanban was there. The realization made him straighten immediately, thoughts of revenge already pumping adrenaline into his body.

The Ryanban was no better than the muggles who stole the magic of countless wizards and witches and used it to fight against them. Harry would kill him, just as he had killed those muggles.

"Yeah, let's go," he echoed, and there was a predatory edge to his smile.

The three looked surprised at first, clearly not having expected his help. After all, he had watched idly while they fought in Hanshin. Harry could see the moment when all three realized that he was fighting to kill the Ryanban, and his smile grew marginally wider. Kurogane shot him an evaluating look which he ignored easily.

"I want to come too!" Chun-Hyang immediately shouted.

"No," Harry said sharply before he could stop himself. He met the startled stares from the rest with his usual blank expression, crossing his arms defensively.

"I need you to protect Princess Sakura," Syaoran said soothingly, trying to soften the blow.

"I can fight! I want to come with you," Chun-Hyang protested stubbornly.

Syaoran looked at Fai and Kurogane helplessly, who only shrugged, both as lost about what to do.

"I'm not good with kids," Kurogane said dismissively.

"Yeah, Kuro-tan is too gruff for little kids, isn't he?" Fai immediately teased, eliciting a growl from Kurogane.

"Why don't you do it then?!" Kurogane demanded.

Harry sighed. Were they really wasting time over this? Praying for patience, he went over to Chun-Hyang, who was only slightly shorter than him. Still, he knelt down so he could talk to her face-to-face.

"Listen," he said, making sure to soften his voice and smile warmly at her. She was still wary of him from his earlier display. "You are important and we cannot risk you. Sakura is very important to all of us and we need someone to protect her while we're gone. Besides, after the Ryanban is gone, we need someone to represent the townspeople when the Amenosa comes. That's you. Do you understand? None of this will be worth it if the news does not get to the government."

"I need to avenge my mother," she said, tears already falling as she realized that they would not be persuaded.

"Would your mother want you to kill?" Harry asked bluntly.

She was struck speechless at his words, then defiantly, "You are going to kill him too!"

"Ah, yes," he said smoothly, not bothering to deny it. "But this is not about me. Would your mother want you to kill him? Or would she want you to help the town return to its former prosperity?" She didn't say anything, and he stood. "Well, think on it. If you still decide to come I won't stop you anymore."

"I-I'll stay," she finally muttered, looking down at the ground.

"Well then, let's go," Harry said, and turned, walking away from the house. He felt, rather than saw, the rest of them following him silently.

"You are good with kids, huh," Fai said, once they were a distance away from Chun-Hyang and Sakura. Harry shrugged. He was alright at it. Hermione and Ginny had been better. Still, after all his experience talking with the terrified Hogwarts students during the siege, he had picked up a few tips here and there.

"What you said was rather hypocritical, though," Kurogane pointed out bluntly.

Harry did not take offense. It _was _hypocritical. He shrugged again.

"Will you really kill him?" Syaoran asked seriously, and Harry tilted his head to the side to look at the boy who had moved to walk beside him.

"I'll try my best," Harry promised, turning his lips up in a slight smile.

The rest of the walk was spent in awkward silence, no one knowing what to say to him. Harry would not have been surprised if they saw him a crazed mass murderer. He barely stopped himself from laughing at the allusion to Sirius, and silently admitted to himself that he _was_ slightly unhinged from the war.

They stopped at the giant gates leading to the castle, looking at it speculatively.

"Now, how should we-" Fai started, only to be cut off when Kurogane simply stomped up to the gates and pushed them open. "You shouldn't do that, you know," he said lightly, but there was an undercurrent of seriousness in his voice. Harry had to agree with the magician. There could have been magical traps hidden behind them.

But there were none, and the gates creaked open to show an impressive view. It was almost as if they had been transported up into the sky suddenly, and they gazed down at the town from above. Kurogane and Syaoran let out exclamations of surprise.

"Impressive," Harry merely said, and it was true. Hogwarts' wards created an illusion of ruins, but this...this was extremely powerful magic. It far surpassed Hogwarts' wards. He briefly contemplated interrogating the answers on how to create such a ward from the Ryanban before killing him.

"What do we do now?" Syaoran asked uncertainly, holding the magical device from Yuuko and looking between Harry and Fai.

Surprisingly, the answer came from Mokona. "Throw it!" Mokona shouted, from where she was perched on Kurogane's shoulder.

"Throw it?" Syaoran repeated. "But then, we wouldn't have it any more..."

"You have to throw it as far as you can to hit the wards!"

Syaoran hesitated slightly, but nodded. In a fluid and graceful motion, he had tossed the device up and delivered it towards the castle with a powerful kick. The device soared through the air, and Harry could feel the moment it touched the wards. There was an impressive explosion of pure power, and with it followed a wave of raw magic that seemed to suffocate him.

"Fuck," Harry muttered as he was forced to his knees, struggling desperately to draw breath. His magic felt sluggish and it slipped through his hold like liquid when he tried to draw it out.

What kind of magic was the Ryanban dabbling with?

"Harry!" Syaoran was shouting, panic written all over his face. "Are you okay?" He pulled Harry up. Harry stumbled slightly, feeling light-headed.

"I'm fine," he slurred, leaning against the boy.

"His magic is not reacting well to the magic the Ryanban is using," Fai said quietly. "Though I have never seen two magics clash so badly before."

With the stubbornness and willpower that had got him through the most difficult of situations, Harry forced himself to his feet.

"I am fine," he repeated, pulling up all his Occlumency shields to full strength, which dulled the suffocating sensation. "We should go."

"If you are sure," Syaoran said uncertainly.

Harry nodded, unable to verbalize his feelings again. He felt weighed down, and every step he took was like walking through sludge.

Breathe in, breathe out.

He was fully aware that he was in an extremely vulnerable state, and he hated every second of it, knowing that his companions could overpower him if they should wish.

Breathe in, breathe out.

What the hell was going on with his magic?

He was so preoccupied with regulating his breathing – Merlin, it took a considerable effort to even breathe properly – that he only realized that they were walking in circles when Syaoran bent down to pick up a piece of rock he had placed on the ground at the start.

"We are walking in circles," Syaoran said, frowning.

"So what now?" Kurogane asked, eying a random wall speculatively. "Maybe if we break all the walls..."

"Ah," Fai said quietly, a hand reached out to the wall in front of him, and Harry could feel the sheer power that radiated from the man as he reached out with his magical senses. Fai's magic was turbulent and chaotic, but it was comforting compared to the heaviness of the magic the Ryanban was using. Somehow, Fai's magic felt...soothing. Harry's own magic reached out for Fai's magic without his control, and Fai's blue eyes cut sharply to him for a brief instant before he looked back at the wall, so fast that Harry was unsure if he had imagined the quick glance.

"It should be this wall," Fai said, looking as unruffled as usual. "The magic here is the strongest."

The little piece of Fai's magic his own had stolen was enough to shield him from the suffocating power. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." he said quietly to the man as Kurogane smashed the wall down.

Clear blue eyes met his and Harry thought he saw a brief flicker of...fear? But then Fai smiled and there was warmth in his blue eyes, and Harry wondered if he was seeing things.

"Shouldn't you be unable to use magic?" Kurogane asked, directing a knowing stare at the magician.

"Ah," Fai said, smiling brightly. "This isn't magic, but intuition."

Lie.

Harry had sensed Fai's magic. Kurogane and Syaoran also seemed to doubt Fai's denial, but said nothing. Harry wondered how often the magician lied. He was beginning to feel that the magician lied a lot, hiding himself behind that false cheery smile.

They stepped past the rubble, into a room that was empty save for the woman standing in the middle of the room.

"What are you?" Kurogane asked rudely, earning a snigger from Fai beside him. He shot Fai a death glare.

"Tsk tsk, how rude. Years of evolution, and this is how you humans have ended up. Mere insects," The woman scoffed, smirking. Then, before anyone could respond, "But I'll let it go for today. You see, it's been so long since I've had guests. I'll like to have a little...fun."

"Can you tell us where the Ryanban is?" Syaoran pressed, ignoring her subtle threats.

"I could," she said teasingly, her smirk growing wider as Syaoran seemed to straighten slightly. "But...I won't."

"Stop playing mind games with us," Harry said sharply, stepping out from where he had stood behind Fai and Kurogane.

The woman's smirk disappeared entirely. For a moment she gaped soundlessly at him, and they exchanged confused looks, not having expected such a sudden change in her demeanour.

"Who are you?" She demanded, and Harry noticed her eyes flicker.

He met her eyes squarely, slightly curious about her reaction. "I'm here to kill the Ryanban," he said bluntly, figuring that there was no point in being polite. "And eliminate all... obstacles that try to stop me."

Another flicker.

Was she afraid of him?

She tilted her head slightly, her lips twitching into an amused smile. "You don't know, do you?" She asked cryptically.

"Know what?" Kurogane demanded. Both ignored him in favor of staring down the other.

"You don't know," she repeated, her smile growing wider.

"Step aside," Harry ordered, refusing to be baited. "Tell us where the Ryanban is and I'll let you go."

She moved so fast that everyone was caught of guard. In an instant, she was in front of Harry, long nails tracing his face, threateningly close to his eyes. "So cute," she purred. "I see why _He_ likes you, now."

Emerald eyes stared back unflinchingly. "Who?" He hissed, digging the knife he had snagged from Chun-Hyang's kitchen against her abdomen, ready to plunge it into her at the slightest movement.

"Your magic," she breathed reverently, moving fearlessly closer, even as the knife dug harder into her.

His eyes widened slightly, completely taken aback at her response. She took advantage of his momentary confusion, and he felt his vision tilt roughly; there was a rush of colour and sound, then came pain. He groaned, feeling some of his ribs crack as he slid down the wall he had slammed into bonelessly.

Fai, Kurogane, and Syaoran were already moving – but she was faster than they had expected, dodging their blows with ease.

"Damn it," Harry gasped, forcing himself to his feet. The four were a blur of fists, kicks and multi-coloured lights. He traced the long scratches on his neck, gazing at the warm blood that stained his fingers with growing anger. His mind was thinking furiously.

She could have killed him, but instead she spared him. Why?

Kurogane had managed to slam her down, pushing her face into the ground roughly. Fai and Syaoran loomed over her, faces drawn with anger.

"You alright, Harry?" Syaoran asked, without turning his attention from the woman.

"Yeah," he muttered, letting his bloodied hand fall to his side. He took a step forward and barely resisted a gasp as a fresh wave of pain overcame him.

"Harry?" Fai asked, hearing the suppressed gasp of pain. Blue eyes flickered momentarily to the shaky figure by the wall, but he kept his posture tense and ready to fight should the woman move.

"I'm fine," Harry said calmly, pushing the pain he felt to the back of his mind. He had built up a high pain tolerance over the years, and this was barely pushing the limits of what he could take.

"Too bad you're just a half-breed," she hissed from the ground, glaring at him. Kurogane tightened his hold on her in warning, but she merely smirked.

"You are not a witch, but you have magic," Harry said quietly, feeling the thrum of magic in the air. It felt familiar and comforting, but unknown and dangerous at the same time. He limped closer to the group, ignoring how his right leg stuck out at an odd angle. He deliberately let his gaze slid over to her dark eyes, resisting a smirk when she met his eyes squarely.

He struck, fast and strong. Expertly slithering into her mind, he extended a tendril of magic, easily snapping the thread of magic that controlled her. The moment the thread snapped, he retreated from her mind as quickly as he had entered. He could sense the powerful well of magic in her, rearing up to protect her mind as soon as the link had broken.

There was no outward sign that she had been released from the spell, except the slight softening of her gaze when she glanced at Harry.

"You need to master your magic," she merely said, before she released a wave of power that threw his three companions away from her.

"What the hell was that?" Kurogane demanded as he got to his feet immediately, shifting into a defensive position. Fai and Syaoran mirrored him, though Fai was slightly less aggressive. He had clearly realized that something had changed.

She smiled, taking a seat in the couch behind her that had appeared out of nowhere. "That was me deciding to let you miserable creatures past," she said, leaning back with a smirk. "You are not worth my time."

"What?" Syaoran voiced out, completely lost at the sudden change of demeanor.

Kurogane's eyes were narrowed, clearly having worked out that something in her had changed, but unsure what.

"Perhaps we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth?" Harry suggested, not looking away from the woman. He felt more than saw the surprised glances directed at him, and smiled faintly. "Go on ahead. I can deal with her just fine. We shouldn't be wasting time here."

"Let's go," Kurogane muttered after a moment of silence. Harry had expected him to be the hardest to convince, and glanced at the man in surprise. Knowing dark eyes met his and he turned away quickly, breaking eye contact. Kurogane was more observant than he let on, he realized, knowing that he had once again underestimated his companion.

"That way will lead you to the Ryanban," She said, nodding at the door that had magically appeared out of nowhere. They waited as the three walked out, the sound of their footsteps growing progressively weaker as they got further away.

"You should go with them too," she finally said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. "I cannot say any more."

"What do you know about my magic?" Harry insisted stubbornly, eyes dark with determination.

"I won't say any more, love," she repeated.

"Why did you call me a half-breed? What is in my magic?" Harry pushed on relentlessly, irritated when she merely looked bored at his demands.

"Say something or I'll make you," he hissed threateningly, baring his teeth in a snarl.

She sighed. "You have to master your magic," she said simply. "Now leave. I may be grateful for your help in breaking the Ryanban's control but I am becoming irritated by your childish demands. I still have a score to settle with the Ryanban."

His eyes flashed with anger, and without thinking, he was moving forward, a ball of magic forming in his palm.

"Damn it!" Harry cursed as she disappeared without warning, leaving his curse to splash harmlessly on the wall. He took a deep breath, reigning his frustration in.

A particularly painful throb reminded him of his broken leg, which he had unknowingly put pressure on when he had tried to curse her. "Crur Emendo," he muttered, tapping his broken right leg with his fingers. He gritted his teeth as his bones were forcibly mended and snapped back together. He had never been as good as Hermione with the healing spells, nor as gentle.

He decided not to waste his magic reserves with the scratches on his neck. They were more of an irritation than anything else, and would not hinder him in a battle.

He left by the door the woman had indicated, following a long hallway, before pausing when he saw a crumpled figure at a corner. A closer inspection revealed it to be the Ryanban's son.

"What a loser," Harry muttered, levitating the unconscious man into the air. It was slightly tiring to keep up the spell, but he figured that the potential blackmail benefits he could get out of the man was well worth the effort.

He made his way to the door at the end of the hallway briskly, not wanting to miss out on the beating that the rest of his companions were undoubtedly unleashing on the Ryanban.

"Ah, did I miss the party," he muttered out loud when he saw that the room was filled with the villagers, all holding sticks and glaring angrily at the Ryanban. His companions stood to a side, looking slightly worse for the wear. As he watched, Syaoran released a feather in his hand, which descended into Sakura's body in a wave of magical light. Sakura fell unconscious, Syaoran cradling her protectively.

The oppressive pressure that had weighed on his magic seemed to have disappeared, and Harry smirked as his magic seemed to sing in delight.

"He tried to mind control the villagers into attacking us, and Chun-Hyang showed up with Sakura to break the spell," Fai summarized for him as he raised a questioning eyebrow at the chaos in the room.

"My son!" The Ryanban shouted, the beads of sweat dotting his forehead betraying his fear. All eyes turned to Harry, who merely smiled and wriggled his fingers slightly, savouring the look of panic on the Ryanban's face when his son flopped around in mid-air, held like a puppet by invisible strings.

"How about a fair trade?" He asked lightly, unable to resist a grin as the Ryanban tried not to show his obvious fear. "Your life for your son's."

"Harry," Syaoran said quietly, but Harry ignored him easily, as he did with Fai's and Kurogane's judging stares.

"No can do," the Kiishimu purred as she suddenly appeared from the shadows, her long nails moving dangerously close to the Ryanban's eyes as she grabbed him from behind. "He's mine."

Harry narrowed his eyes, glaring at the woman who had the gall to steal what was his. "I got to him first," he argued, and flopped the Ryanban's son around some more, watching in delight as the Ryanban cried out in fear for his son.

"Leave my son alone, please," the Ryanban begged. "Take me instead! Please, spare him!"

"_Not Harry! Not Harry! Please – I'll do anything-Please, no, take me instead!"_

He inhaled sharply, startled. For a moment... for a moment he had thought he had seen the figure of Lily Potter pleading with Voldemort to save his life instead-

He blinked several times, and glanced back at the Ryanban. It was the Ryanban. It was not Lily Potter.

"Fine," Harry said abruptly, releasing the Ryanban's son gently to the ground. His voice was rougher than usual, and he looked away from the man, not wanting to see the pleading figure of Lily Potter in the despicable man. He took a few steps back from the prone figure, showing that he would not hurt the Ryanban's son.

"Thank you-thank you so much-" was the Ryanban's last words as he was dragged away by the Kiishimu, to what was inevitably his death. There was no longer fear in his voice, but a profound gratefulness and relief that cut Harry to the core.

When had he become exactly like Voldemort?

* * *

**End of Chapter 4**

* * *

A/N: Well, I initially wanted to include the Country of Spirit in this, but this seemed like a better place to end it. Let's hope I can keep my chapters as long as this in future! Though it really depends on where the end of a chapter fits in their adventure.

So, any thoughts?

Icylone


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